


It feels good to be moving now

by uncreativename



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Fluff, New Year's Eve, New Year's Fluff, New Year's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-28
Updated: 2014-12-28
Packaged: 2018-03-03 22:10:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2889719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uncreativename/pseuds/uncreativename
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s New Year’s Eve and Laura just got off her closing shift at work. Heading back to the Silas campus, she misses her bus – but runs into a familiar face.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It feels good to be moving now

**Author's Note:**

> AU New Year’s Eve fluff! For some context, this is an AU only *kind of*: Carmilla’s still a vampire, because it’s Silas, but they’re not roommates and Hollstein only know of each other. 
> 
> Written for beforetheclonepocalypse. :) I never really write fluff, so I hope I did okay!

Laura really shouldn’t have offered to stay behind at the restaurant and clean up alone. It was late, it was snowing, and it was a little less than hour to midnight.

But it was New Year’s Eve. It was sad being single tonight and she was hoping for a distraction from how shitty her love life had been lately. Cleaning, as she learned from her friend Perry, was strangely cathartic.

Anything to avoid spending more time than she needed to at Perry and LaFontaine’s annual New Year’s Eve dorm floor party, surrounded by her floor mates, most of them strangers or barely acquaintances, most of whom were madly in love or bringing dates. One of whom was an ex who she _really_ didn’t want to see tonight (an ex who was apparently bringing a date tonight too).

She shrugged her fluffy winter coat on and shut off the lights before quickly enabling the alarm system and stepping outside, locking the door behind her. She slipped on her mittens and held out her hand, watching the snow melt as soon as she caught it.

She pulled out her cell to check the time – a few minutes before her bus would come. She’d have just enough time to stroll into the party, right before the awkward countdown. She can stop by, make an appearance, stand around uncomfortably waiting for the clock to strike midnight and disappear into her dorm room before anyone could say anything.

She just wanted to avoid seeing all the happy couples kiss at midnight.

Last year she was part of one of those couples. At that point, her and Danny had been seeing each other for a few weeks; things were new and exciting, and she could ignore the glaring warning signals that they _just weren’t right_ for each other. Signals that eventually caught up to them. Their breakup was (relatively) amicable but came after a few major arguments. Danny found Laura to be too reckless. Laura found Danny to be too controlling. Danny wanted a commitment. Laura couldn’t give that to her.

She bore no hard feelings for the woman, of course. She just didn’t want her to see her today.

Not while she was single and Danny was not.

Look, Laura Hollis was _not_ a petty woman, but there are two nights when it is okay to want to make your ex-girlfriend jealous – New Year’s Eve is one of them. (Valentine’s Day is the other, obviously.)

But, really, she _was_ happy being alone. Something she had repeatedly told her dad, LaFontaine, Kirsch, and basically _everyone_ in the past six months of being single.

_“So there’s this total hottie in my Women's Studies class; I told her about you. Showed her your picture. She agreed that you were a little hottie and gave me her number for you,” Kirsch said a couple months ago, with a big, dumb, puppy-dog face, before grabbing a phone number out of his pocket._

_“Remember our neighbor Lydia? Well it turns out her niece, who lives in Toronto, is a lesbian too! So we thought when she comes and visits this summer, you two should meet up, sweetie!” her dad offered brightly during Christmas dinner, a week ago._

_“Elsie, one of the Summer Society girls, is really pissed off at Danny, so I told her to stop by later while we’re hanging out, maybe you two could get to know each other…” LaFontaine mentioned a few days ago. LaFontaine really had it in for Danny for some reason._

All three barely survived the tantrums Laura threw as a result of their meddling.

There was no need to pass along stranger’s phone numbers. Or try to set her up with neighbor’s nieces. Or pawn her off on Danny’s enemies.

There was _no need to worry_. She was _more than okay_ being single.

(But some nights were harder than others. Tonight especially. Something about being alone at New Year’s Eve was too much.)

She turned the corner to her bus stop, just in time to see it drive away.

“No! Stop!”

So she ran. She chased after it. Yelling frantically, waving her arms, looking crazy. She ran past a crowd of strangers who were waiting outside a club when her eyes locked on someone familiar: quite possibly one of the most beautiful people she had ever seen in her life.

And she slid. She lost her balance on an ice patch on the sidewalk, showcasing her slick Canadian breakdancing skills in front the crowd before landing ungracefully with a thud on her butt. At this point she couldn’t even feel the sting from the fall. Not when, through the laughter of the crowd, she heard a voice.

“Holy shit, are you okay, cupcake?”

 _Oh no_ , Laura thought to herself, _please don’t let that voice belong to her, oh Jesus, it’s her._

Running from her spot in the line came Carmilla Karnstein, her German Philosophy TA. The woman who caught her eye. So yes, _definitely_ the most beautiful person she had ever had the pleasure of seeing in her life. Laura had been crushing on her since the first class when Carmilla made a snide (loud) comment about how the teacher was mispronouncing Nietzsche.

When Carmilla announced to the class that yes, rumors were true, she was a vampire (so her office hours were exclusive to after sunset), it did nothing to stifle the growing admiration for her smart, accomplished, and beautiful TA. Who should’ve probably been teaching the class instead of her bumbling professor. But really, Laura showed up to class to gawk at Carmilla – not so much due to an interest in philosophy.

“Oh dear god, it’s you,” Laura said, as Carmilla helped her up on her feet. “I mean. Hello! Uh, hi. _Hey_. I’m fine. Thanks.”

A reason why Laura was still single: she was _really_ uncool around people she found attractive. It was a miracle she even managed to convince Danny or any of her other ex-girlfriends to date her in the first place.

“Hello, hi, and hey to you too, cutie,” Carmilla replied, holding back a chuckle. She picked up Laura’s bag and handed it to her. “You’re right; it is me. But you don’t need to call me god; Carmilla is fine.”

Laura laughed; a little too loud and a little too excitedly. Carmilla raised an eyebrow, but still smiled and continued, “I’m glad you’re fine, sweetheart. That was quite the fall. You’re Laura, right? You were in my philosophy class.”

Laura was surprised; she had no idea Carmilla would know her name, much less recognize her. She nodded. “Uh, yeah! It…it was a great class,” Laura said, a little lost for words. Carmilla was _beautiful_. It was hard to think.

“Off to a big party?”

“Oh, yeah. Oh _crap_ , my bus!” Laura spun around to look in the direction her bus was heading, which was long gone, and once again slipped. Carmilla quickly grabbed her before anything disastrous could happen and Laura clung to her. She didn’t realize how close she was to her until she looked straight into Carmilla’s eyes. She could see just how brown and rich her eyes were as the street lamps illuminated them. She caught Carmilla looking down towards her lips and found herself leaning forward.

A loud voice yelling “YEAH KISS!” cut through Laura’s thoughts and she quickly flinched away from Carmilla’s arms. Carmilla gave the crowd the finger then asked, “Do you need a ride somewhere?”

“What? No, you were in line! You should get back in line! I’ll call a cab. Or I’ll walk! It’s no big deal. You look _incredible_ , you should be out, people need to see you and your face,” Laura said, waving her hands over Carmilla’s body, before realizing _what_ she was saying and kicking herself. Carmilla gave her a smug smile. “Just go, have fun. Thanks for helping me up,” Laura ended, before she could say anything further to embarrass herself.

She began to turn away when Carmilla grabbed her wrist.

“Hey, it’s no big deal. My brother Will dragged me here and he bailed on me last minute anyway. And I don’t want to spend the New Year with a bunch of _assholes who won’t stop staring_ ,” Carmilla said, her volume increasing by the end of the sentence. The people in the crowd who were still eavesdropping had the decency to look away. “I wasn’t going to drink tonight anyway and I parked nearby. It’s the least I can do, I was pretty hard on your final paper.”

That wasn’t true at all; Laura got an A on it. But Carmilla took her hand in hers, stopping any protest Laura had from leaving her lips. She quickly pulled her down the block, turning onto a parking lot.

“So where can I take you?” Carmilla asked, before opening the passenger door when they reached the car. Like a perfect gentlewoman, Laura noted, Carmilla waited until she was seated and buckled in before closing the door behind her.

She waited for Carmilla to get in before answering: “Morgan Hall. Some friends are having a party,” she glanced down at the clock in the car, “which I am _super_ late for, holy crap, next year is, like, 30 minutes away.”

“I better get you there quick then,” Carmilla said, before turning the key in the ignition and pulling out of the parking stall. She turned on the radio – a live recording of some New Year’s Eve countdown special – and off they went towards the campus.

“You should come up!” Laura said excitedly, feeling _a tiny_ bit brave, but still turning beet red as the words came out.

Carmilla quickly glanced over, smiling. “Well,like you said, people need to see me and my face, right?”

Laura felt her cheeks flush once more, “I am really sorry about that. I am _so_ awkward. Around people. All people. All the time.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Carmilla said, stopping at a red light. “You’re cute. I’m flattered.” She placed her hand on Laura’s thigh and gave it a light squeeze. She looked her straight in the eyes before quietly adding, “Usually people are more afraid of me. I like that you’re…not.”

Seconds later the light turned green and she removed her hand from Laura’s thigh to put her car into first gear.

Her phone vibrated and Laura grabbed it from her bag; four texts from LaFontaine; one from Danny. LaFontaine’s were variations of _“Where are you?”_ Danny’s read: _“I hope you’re still coming. I can’t wait for you to meet Betty!”_ She rolled her eyes and sent LaF a text saying she’d be there ASAP.

“Your boyfriend?” Carmilla asked, not looking away from the road.

“Um, no. A friend. Who’s party I’m late for. They just wanted to make sure I was safe. And my ex. _She_ is there tonight, with her new girlfriend,” Laura answered, glancing at Carmilla. She noticed her lips turn up into a smile. “I’m really not looking forward to this party, honestly.”

“Well, you may have convinced me to come up with you. We can make your ex jealous. And, to be honest, I didn’t want to spend the night with some asshole keeping me from getting to know the _beautiful_ girl who thinks I look incredible,” Carmilla said, stopping at another red light, “so I’m kind of glad that you’re single.” She turned and winked at Laura once more; Laura could barely hold it together.

Externally, she was hoping she looked relatively calm and cool. Internally she was squeeing. Carmilla was bold. Laura liked that. She still blushed (she was going to faint if Carmilla didn’t stop making her do that), but she _really_ liked that.

The conversation continued to flow between the two women. They talked about Silas (“So your mom is the Dean?” “Yeah, we’re both not crazy about that fact. But I wanted another degree and my tuition is taken care of here if I help out a couple professors, so…”). They talked about the philosophy class (“I can’t believe you remembered my name; there were like, 90 other people in the class.” “Well, cupcake, you were a bright spot out of all those mindless idiots. And, well, look at you.” – Laura could’ve fainted). And they talked about Christmas break (“I got back a couple days ago to pick up shifts at the restaurant that I work at. My dad was pretty bummed, but I didn’t want him to have to pay for _everything_ , you know?”).

Laura wasn’t usually this chatty with a stranger – okay, that was a lie. But she wasn’t usually this _giddy_ around one.

A stranger who was a vampire, a fact that she was surprised to realize that she didn’t so much care about. At all. She had seen Carmilla snap at people in her class, use her superspeed on campus (much to The Dean’s chagrin) and carry around her travel cup of blood. But none of those things mattered; in this moment, they were just two women talking. One flirting and one doing a _terrible_ job at flirting back.

Carmilla turned onto the Silas residences parking lot, which appeared to be full.

“Will you come up and save me from the awkwardness I’m inevitably about to experience?”

Carmilla pretended to think about it for a moment, making Laura laugh. “I would love to join you. Spending New Year’s Eve with a bunch of drunk lackwits will be worthwhile as long as you’re there, creampuff.” Carmilla replied.

Laura’s heart squeezed and felt warm – something that she hadn’t felt in a while. Ever, really, if she was being honest with herself.

They managed to find a spot – far away on the opposite end of the parking lot, a good ten-minute walk from Morgan Hall. It was 11:55 pm.

“We could run there?” Laura suggested, not leaving the car yet.

“And risk you falling again? As much as I enjoyed holding you in my arms, I don’t want you spraining an ankle,” Carmilla replied, turning off the ignition but keeping the radio on. She turned up the volume. Ryan Seacrest’s voice played over the speakers, giving the official warning – 4 minutes left in the year.

“Here, come with me,” Carmilla said, stepping out of the car. Laura joined Carmilla, who was sitting on the hood of the car. They were alone in the parking lot, everyone else in their respective dorm halls, at their various parties. “It’s a little chilly, so feel free to lean into me, cutie.”

Laura did just that. They sat quietly, enjoying each other’s company and the random chatter from the radio. Carmilla’s hand stroked up and down Laura’s back, offering a little heat from the cold night air. As Ryan announced it was two minutes to New Year’s Day, Carmilla spoke up. “I’m really sorry you’re missing out on your party.”

“I’m not,” Laura said. She looked up, Carmilla’s face close once again. “I’m _really_ glad I made a fool of myself in front of all those people. It was really nice having you pick me up off the freezing ground,” she joked.

_“30 seconds! Grab your girlfriend, your boyfriend, a stranger, your pet dog – get ready for the midnight kiss!”_

Carmilla smiled but something in her expression kept Laura from commenting further.

Carmilla brushed Laura’s hair away from her cheek and cupped her face.

_“10! 9! 8!”_

They continued to stare at each other for a beat before Laura got the nerve to say, “I _really_ want to kiss you.”

_“7! 6! 5! 4!”_

_“_ I would be terribly offended if you didn’t, cutie,” Carmilla whispered. Laura’s eyes traced down the path of Carmilla’s face, from her eyes to her nose, to her lips, committing it to memory.

_“3! 2! 1! Happy New Year!”_

Laura didn’t know who leaned in first; all she could do was _feel_.

Carmilla’s lips were soft against hers. She let Laura take the lead, which she was happy to do. Her mitten-covered hand reached up and pulled Carmilla in, clutching the back of her head. Her heart raced as she felt Carmilla’s tongue trace her bottom lip – Laura barely held in a gasp as she deepened the kiss further.

In the background, Laura could vaguely hear sounds of cheering, toasting, and fireworks. All of which weren’t as loud as her beating heart.

She didn’t know how long they were sitting there, kissing in the lightly falling snow, listening to Ryan Seacrest ring in the new year at Times Square. All she knew is that she never wanted to do this with anyone else.

Carmilla slowly pulled away, but not before leaning in again and giving Laura a shy peck on the lips.

“Wow,” Laura breathed out, her eyes fluttering open.

Carmilla chuckled. “Yeah.” Carmilla smiled shyly at her, her head ducked down slightly, looking at Laura through her bangs. As confident and sexy as Carmilla usually was, _this_ version of Carmilla was someone that Laura knew not many people saw. She felt herself starting to fall for her.

On many levels, this was more than she had ever felt before with any other girl. But she shook that feeling off, wanting to focus on the moment.

“ _Soooo_ ,” she started, “This has been a surprisingly great New Year’s Eve.” She brushed some snow off Carmilla’s bangs. “That said – I am _freezing_ right now.”

“Oh, _humans_ , with your weak constitutions. Come on, let’s get you inside,” Carmilla replied, with a smile. She jumped off the hood, and held out a hand for Laura to take, helping her off. Laura was still in a daze. As her feet landed on the concrete, Laura felt Carmilla’s arms wrapped around her waist.

“Actually, I would really like to keep talking to you tonight,” Carmilla began, looking unsure for the first time tonight. “Do you still want to go to your party? Or do you maybe want to go get some food with me? There’s a 24-hour diner near by…”

Laura reached up and kissed Carmilla once again. “I would love to spend the night with you. Uh, at the diner. And eat. Food. With you. Wait, you eat? Food? Not just people?” Laura stepped away, out of Carmilla’s arms, shaking her head at herself. She looked up; Carmilla was laughing, so that was a good sign. Laura sighed and then tried again, laughing a little at herself too. “Yes, I would love to keep talking to you. Let’s go get food. And again, I’m sorry. I am never usually in situations like this, kissing beautiful women…”

Carmilla laughed and opened the passenger door for her. “I have a hard time believing that. There is something about you, Laura. You really are the cutest person I have ever met in my life,” she started, as Laura climbed in. “And I’m really glad tonight ended up like this.” Before she could respond, Carmilla shut the door.

Laura watched as Carmilla walked around the car and got in. She placed her hand on Carmilla’s shoulder. “Me too. Happy New Year, Carmilla.”

“Happy New Year, Laura. Now let’s go _spend the night together_ ,” Carmilla added with a wink before reversing out of the spot.

They sat in comfortable silence as they made their way to the diner. Laura shot LaFontaine a text saying she wasn’t going to make it, but to have a good party. She ignored a missed text from Danny.

With her evening ending up so much better than she could’ve ever imagined, she wanted to keep whatever was happening tonight with Carmilla to herself, for now.

“Okay, cutie. We’re here,” Carmilla said, parking the car in front of the diner. “You ready?”

She slipped her phone back into her bag and leaned forward, giving Carmilla a kiss on the cheek.

“Let’s do this!”

 _Best New Year’s ever,_ Laura thought to herself before following Carmilla into the diner.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my wife, who beta’d it. Best wife ever.


End file.
